Reactions to the Attack on the Islamic Republic's Consulate; A User: The Government Hits in Iran's Parks and Gets Hit in the Streets of Damascus

The killing of several Quds Force commanders in an airstrike attributed to Israel on the Islamic Republic's consulate in Damascus has sparked numerous reactions on social media; most users emphasize that the Islamic Republic is unable to respond to attacks on its positions and forces, and instead suppresses protesters and citizens in Iran. On the other hand, a division has emerged among users supporting the government. Some users, using the keyword 'cutlet', reacted to the killing of IRGC officials in the attack on the building adjacent to the Islamic Republic's embassy in Syria. Hamed Esmaeilioun, a plaintiff and opponent of the Islamic Republic who lost his wife and daughter during the downing of flight PS752 by an IRGC missile, wrote on Tuesday about the killing of several of these commanders in Damascus on the social media platform 'X': 'No one mourns your death. You have inflicted such oppression and sorrow on our people and instilled such anger in our people that no one is saddened by your death.' He added: 'You are helpless. Your missile doesn't even reach Erbil; the ground in Pakistan is hard. You know that in a military conflict with any country or government, the people will not support you, so you resort to meaningless rhetoric like strategic patience and target the people for the hard revenge you talk about: passenger planes, women who stand against you by discarding mandatory hijab, workers, students, employees, intellectuals, artists, writers, and all free people who insist on their rights.' Mr. Esmaeilioun continued: 'You target people who have turned the sorrow of bread and the ideal of freedom into resistance and struggle against you. Read your funeral prayers and take pride in your strategic patience during your own funerals, which is due to your impotence, not your wisdom. Ultimately, it is the people of Iran who will determine your inevitable downfall. Wait and see.' Additionally, Ali Karimi, a prominent Iranian football figure and opponent of the Islamic Republic, wrote on the social media platform X: 'We have cutlets for dinner on the thirteenth of Farvardin.' The term 'cutlet' is a phrase that opponents of the Islamic Republic attribute to Qassem Soleimani due to the manner of his killing and use expressions like 'Qassem cutlet' to refer to the former commander of the IRGC. Some users, including Dariush Omran, a political activist, have described the killing of IRGC members in this attack as 'a gift to the people of Iran.' Furthermore, Saba Bakhtiari, the aunt of the plaintiff Pouya Bakhtiari, wrote with the hashtag 'Thank you, Israel': 'Israel's gift to the great nation of Iran. Our joy for the thirteenth of Farvardin is complete.' Hossein Torkashvand, a political activist, emphasized that 'removing the criminals of the Islamic Republic is a service to Iran,' stating: 'Let us spend today rejoicing at the mourning of the mafia of the Islamic Republic that kills the nation and humiliate its supporters who have come to the field with empty arguments. What do supporters of the clerics have to do with national interests! We are at war with the Islamic Republic, an all-out war!' Meanwhile, Amir Hossein Etemadi, a political activist, criticized U.S. policies towards the Islamic Republic, emphasizing: 'Fortunately, Israel knows the right way to confront terrorists.' Mohammad Heydari, a political activist, shared a video from a joint military exercise of the Islamic Republic's forces in previous years, stating: 'This is proof of why the removal of Mohammad Reza Zahidi and his companions is in favor of the national revolution of Iran and in the interest of protecting the lives of protesting people.' He added: 'You see they were training for repression in 1395 (2016), a year before the protests that occurred from 1396 (2017) to 1401 (2022) which led to the massacre of thousands of the revolutionary people of Iran. In these files, Mohammad Reza Zahidi can be easily identified.' Shahin Najafi, an artist opposing the Islamic Republic, also commented on the joy of Iranian users over this attack on social media, saying: 'Is this much joy for the killing of a few IRGC generals? Israel sees this and thinks we are easily satisfied. Raise the expectations.' He also addressed Ali Khamenei, saying: 'Silent, do you have a response? A revenge?' Masih Alinejad, a journalist and political activist opposing the Islamic Republic, also shared images of the IRGC members killed in this attack, referring to the arguments of those who say 'attacking the Iranian embassy means attacking Iranian soil,' stating that these individuals 'try to portray the IRGC executors as popular heroes and, as they say, Iranians' and should be asked: 'How is it that you do not see the sea of blood between the commanders of the Islamic Republic's IRGC and the defenseless people of Iran?' Additionally, some users defending the Islamic Republic have acknowledged that Mehdi Jaladati, one of the IRGC members killed in this attack, participated in the suppression of the nationwide protests of 1401 (2022). A comment from a user defending the Islamic Republic about Mehdi Jaladati's involvement in the suppression of the 1401 protests. Behnam Gholipour, a journalist, also pointed out this issue, using the hashtag 'Mehdi Jaladati': 'By God, anyone who shot at these people has become a refugee.' A user on the social media platform X also juxtaposed images of the IRGC and Basij forces in parks to suppress people and the ruins caused by the Israeli attack on the building next to the Islamic Republic's embassy in Syria, writing: 'You hit in Iran's parks and get hit in the streets of Damascus!' Arash Hampay, a political activist, also shared photos of the condemned protesters Mojahid Korkor, Abbas Daris, and Reza Rasayi, writing: 'My only concern is for political prisoners for the hard revenge of the revolutionary.' A user named Shayan Shahnaazi also mocked the arguments of some defenders of the Islamic Republic who referred to 'diplomatic immunity,' sharing a humorous image that included a photo of Mohammad Reza Zahidi with a text that said, 'We put up a consulate sign and there we plot to destroy Israel,' and in the next image, it said, 'Israel turned that into fertilizer.' Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, one day after the killing of members of the IRGC Quds Force in the attack attributed to Israel, mentioned Mohammad Reza Zahidi and Mohammad Hadi Haj Rahimi, stating that they and other victims of this incident 'lost nothing and received their reward' and claimed that 'we will make Israel regret' and 'they will be punished.' Meanwhile, among the forces defending the Islamic Republic, a division has emerged, with some calling for 'hard revenge' while others suggest 'strategic patience.' In a video that has caught users' attention on social media, a government media activist on the Ofogh network criticized the inaction of Islamic Republic officials regarding the repeated killings of senior IRGC commanders despite the repeated slogan of 'hard revenge,' saying: 'Should the pressure be felt more than this for us to say it is not expedient for now?' A user defending the Islamic Republic criticized the government's 'strategic patience' in the face of such attacks, calling it 'against the approach of Amir al-Mu'minin,' stating that 'passing the buck and not responding appropriately will endanger your territorial integrity.' In contrast, Asghar Sepahri, an opponent of the Islamic Republic, humorously shared the song 'Patience of Job' by Javad Yasari. The airstrike attributed to Israel on the Quds Force commanders' headquarters in the consulate building adjacent to the Iranian embassy in Damascus and the killing of at least seven of these commanders has once again brought the words 'revenge' and 'harsh punishment' back into the language and writing of the officials and supporters of the Islamic Republic. Official news agencies in Iran reported in the early hours of Tuesday (Iran time) quoting the secretariat of the Supreme National Security Council of the Islamic Republic that a meeting was held at 9 PM the previous night and announced that 'necessary decisions' have been made to respond to the attack on the Islamic Republic's affiliated building in Damascus. At the same time, news was released that the permanent Russian mission to the United Nations announced that it had registered a request to convene a meeting of the UN Security Council, and according to this report, the council meeting will be held on Tuesday, April 14.